“[CNN moderator] John King wanted more of an intra-party squabble between all the candidates,” says Pawlenty spokesman Alex Conant, referring to King’s pointed questioning about the Obamneycare term. “But we really came to this debate with our focus on Obama and wanting to make the case that Governor Pawlenty had the experience vision and record to be able to compete with President Obama and beat President Obama.”

But that doesn’t mean that the Obamneycare mention on Fox News Sunday was the last of Pawlenty’s efforts to distinguish his record from Romney’s.